Mayor to answer recall claims

Has until the end of Thursday to respond

Dec. 4, 2013

Mayor Ruben Bermudez

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From staff reports

After Thursday, the next job for the city clerk is approving a final draft of a recall petition for publication.

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VINELAND — Mayor Ruben Bermudez plans to file a formal answer to claims by a group pushing for a special election in 2014 to remove him from office.

Bermudez said at his weekly tele-press conference that a response will be submitted to the city clerk no later than the close of business on Thursday. He may turn in up to a 200-word response to the group.

Clerk Keith Petrosky officially notified the mayor on Nov. 26, giving him until the end of Thursday to respond.

The mayor’s answer, which is optional under state law, will be printed on a petition that should be in circulation in the middle of December.

A five-member recall committee claims that the first-term mayor is neglecting his duties, is incompetent and is misusing his authority. Those claims also will be on the petition for residents to review before deciding whether to sign.

The recall effort passed its first hurdle last week when the city clerk said the committee’s Notice of Intention was properly completed.

So far, the list of confirmed mayoral candidates if the petition is successful includes former Mayor Robert Romano, former 2012 mayoral candidate David Mazur and businessman Gary Galloway. Romano was planning a 2016 rematch with Bermudez in any case.

After Thursday, the next job for the city clerk is approving a final draft of a recall petition for publication. The Committee to Recall Ruben Bermudez would have 160 business days to collect at least 9,444 signatures of registered voters.

If the group collects that many valid signatures, than the clerk would set a date for a special election to be held.

Petrosky said checking the signatures will be more difficult and time consuming than checking regular candidate nominating peitions.

The rules for a recall petition allow multiple signatures on the same petition, which is not usually allowed. The process of checking names against a list of registered voters is done by hand.

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